Headline construction packages awarded on North West London Upgrade
Laing O’Rourke and the Hochtief Murphy joint venture have landed the headline construction packages on National Grid’s major North West London Upgrade.
Planned Letchmore Heath substation Image: National Grid
The programme will strengthen the electricity transmission network between Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and North West London while creating enough capacity to connect five new data centres with a combined demand of 1GW.
Laing O’Rourke will deliver new and upgraded substations at Letchmore Heath, Elstree and St John’s Wood.
The start of something big- Sundon substation Image: Telcontar
The Hochtief Murphy JV (HMJV) has been appointed to install new 400kV cables and upgrade the existing Elstree to St John’s Wood transmission tunnel.
Hyundai Electric will supply transformers and other major electrical equipment, while Siemens Energy will deliver shunt reactors at Elstree.
The project stretches from Sundon substation in Bedfordshire to Elstree in Hertfordshire and on to St John’s Wood in London.
It includes upgrades at Sundon, a 35km reconductoring programme on the Sundon to Elstree overhead line, an extension to Elstree substation, construction of the new Letchmore Heath substation and reinforcement works at St John’s Wood.
More than 200km of overhead line will be upgraded. Another 60km of new cable will be pulled through the existing 20km-long Elstree to St John’s Wood tunnel, which was designed to accommodate an additional transmission circuit when it was built.
Joe Senior, project director at National Grid, said:
“The North West London Upgrade is a nationally significant investment that will strengthen the electricity network, unlock new connections, support regional economic growth and help keep long term energy costs down for consumers.
“Working closely with our delivery partners and supply chain, we're bringing together substations, cables and tunnels, and overhead line reinforcement in a single programme to deliver the infrastructure needed to power future homes, businesses and digital industries as electricity demand rises.”
Raj Kundan, HMJV project director, said:
“HMJV are proud to continue supporting National Grid in the delivery of critical national energy infrastructure, bringing our cutting-edge solutions and ‘One Team, One Spirit’ approach. Our team look forward to working in collaboration with National Grid and the enterprise partners to leave a positive legacy for all those connected with the scheme.”
Peter Lyons, Managing Director of Laing O’Rourke’s Europe hub, said:
“This work builds on Laing O’Rourke’s partnership with National Grid, having been appointed as construction partner to The Great Grid Upgrade, Wimbledon Asset Replacement, and Margam and Port Talbot substations. We will be utilising our digital tools to enable our teams to deliver safely and efficiently on site. These critical upgrades are just part of our ongoing work with National Grid to provide more secure energy for the UK.”
Cordi O’Hara
National Grid said the investment will boost network resilience, unlock future connections and reduce long-term electricity constraint costs while supporting growing demand from homes, businesses and digital infrastructure across the capital. Hear National Grid UK President, Cordi O’Hara outline their strategy at GRID-UK at Excel London on 1 October. Admission is free, subject to advanced registration. Sign up here.